The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-06-23
THE PENSION OFFICE.
How It's Onicers Dispose Of the Millions
OF Communications Addressed TO It

June 80, 1886, the United States Com
missioner of Pensions, General John g.
Black, submitted a report TO the Secre-
tarv of the Interior in which he stated
that the bureau had on its roll at that
time 365. 7S3 pensioners costing the Gov
eminent for the year over sixty-three
million dollars General Black also
stated that during the year closed. the
names of 40,857 new pensioners had
been placed on the list, that 2,229 had
been restored, and that p. 089 had been
dropped. This enumeration, SO easy
to state, stands for an amount of work
quite Uncomfortable to one unacquainted
with the workings of the Pension Office.
At the time this report was sab
mitted, the law allowed the Office to give
pensions to all soldiers wounded in the
military service of the United States,
or who had incurred disability from
their service, to the widows, minor
children and dependent relatives of
soldiers, to all invalid sailors, and their
widows. minors and dependent rela-
tives, to survivors of the war of 1872
who could prove sixty days service.
and to widows of soldiers in that war.
1t will be seen that the business of
the Pension Office in dealing with ap-
plicants for pensions, becomes two-fold:
to grant pensions to those the law
points out as deserving, and to with
hold them from claimants which it does
not recognize. To do this the office
must have on its records satisfactory
evidence in the case of an invalid, that
a man by such a name and from such a
place actually had the service claimed.
that the claimant is this man. and that
his injury or disability is undoubtedly
widows, ETC." (as the Pension Office
officials tersely classify widows, minors
and dependent relatives), that the
service of the soldier or sailor is as
claimed, that the claimants identity is
established, and that there is no doubt
about the dependence. To show briefly
some of the striking features developed
in gathering and handling this testi-
mony and in forming conclusions, is
the business of this article.
Under the law the number of persons
who may receive pensions is, of course,
very large, while the number who may
pretend TO have just claims is almost
inestimable. The Pension Office has
all kinds of people on its hands, both
honest and dishonest; the old soldier,
poor and disabled, who has spent years
without filing his application and only
doing so now because his injuries are
driving him TO the poor-house; dis
heartened widows frightened at the
money and time it takes to establish
their claims and nervous at the ques-
tons; unreasonable women who know
their husbands were in the army and
indignant that the Office does rot take
their word for it; well-to-do and healthy
men determined to get still little more
to add to their incomes; and out-and-
out frauds, keen, tricky, and prepared
at every point.
Applications and testimony must be
in writing and they come in showers.
Last year the number of pieces of mail
received in the office was over two mil
lion, the mail some days running as
high as eleven thousand separate
pieces. Each communication referred
more or less directly to a new case,
a pending case, or had bearing on
the status of one already established.
OF course this enormous correspond
ence must be handled with system and
care, and a very perfect method is en-
ployed. Each new application for a
pension and each application for an
increase of pension goes from the mail
ing division to what is known as the
record division, where it is recorded,
and if a new case, given a number by
which it is to be hereafter known on its
travels through the departments of the
office. All future correspondence re-
lating to this application is at once
jacketed with the original application
and testimony, the object being to keep
every thing concerning each case to-
gether.
The data required before the claim
can be recorded and leave the division
is, for an invalid claim. the full name
and address of the soldier, with the
company, regiment and State from
which he enlisted, also any other service
he may have had. If widows claim,
the above facts are required and also
data regarding the pension. if any. the
soldier drew. This data is sometimes
slow in coming into the record division,
claims lying for months before they can
be recorded. In spite of this fact the
division does an immense amount of
work. Last year 81, $50 invalid appli-
cations, Ii, 23S widows, and SO, 1875 in
crease applications were recorded.
The examination of the evidence to
establish the claim is given to what is
known as the adjudicating divisions.
There are five of these-the Eastern,
Middle, Western, Southern, and Old
w III anu NAVY. 1Hc NUIh III cslcH IL
the same, the field of their labors differ
ing. The first four deal only with pen
sioners of the late war. The Old War
and Navy Division handles claims of
sailors. of soldiers in the revolution,
the war of 1872. Indian wars. the Mex
lean War, and in all companies of the
late war not enrolled in the regular
army such as the sharp-shooters organ
izations, the Missouri brigade, etc
ChdutduQuaN